Aerosol valve having selectable flow rate

ABSTRACT

Annular sealing surface in this tilt-type valve has plurality of different-sized openings spaced about it, each opening leading to the discharge stem. Desired rate may be achieved by tilting the valve from the direction which unseats the appropriate opening.

nite States Patent 1191 Shay Mar. 5, 1974 [54] AEROSOL VALVE HAVING SELECTABLE 2,615,597 10/1952 Tomasek et al. 222/402.22 FLOW RATE 3,170,633 2/1965 Castelli v 239/392 X 2,997,243 8/1961 Kolb 239/437 X [75] Inventor: Joseph J h hay, st r, 3,209,960 10 1965 Green 239/579 x N.H. 3,434,633 3/1969 Green 239/579 X 3,653,558 4/1972 Sha 1 ZZZ/402.17 [73] Asslgnee Manufactur'ng Company 2,881,808 4 1959 oen nain 222 40222 x Waterbury, Conn- 2,766,913 10/1956 Wilshusen 222 40222 O 2,709,]l1 G1'C1'1 [21] Appl. No.: 297,812

Primary Examiner-Stanley H. Tollberg Related Apphcatmn Dam Assistant Examiner-Norman L. Stack, Jr. [63] Continuation-im art of Ser. No. 81,020, Oct. 15, Attorney, Agent, or FirmDallett Hoopes 1970, abandoned.

[52] US. Cl. ZZZ/402.17 51 1111. c1 B65d 83/06 [57] ABSTRACT [58] new of Search 222/402'22 Annular sealing surface in this tilt-type valve has plu- 222/529 9 3927394 rality of different-sized openings spaced about it, each 239/392 579 opening leading to the discharge stem. Desired rate may be achieved by tilting the valve from the direction [56] References cued which unseats the appropriate opening.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,572,557 3/1971 Montgomery et al. 222/402.22 3 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures l2 v 3B 36 2 J6 I I if 4 T 41 IIW 3O AEROSOL VALVEHAVING SELECTABLE FLOW RATE This application constitutes a continuation-in-part application of my co-pending patent application, Ser. No. 8I,020 now abandoned, deposited in the U. S. Patent Office on Oct. 15, I970, entitled Aerosol Valve Having Selectable Flow Rate."

This invention relates to an aerosol valve. More specifically, the invention relates to an aerosol valve with means for controlling the spray rate.

In the prior art, there are a number of aerosol valves having variable spray rates. Most of these involve the adjustable limiting of the downward travel of the valve so that depending on the adjustment, an opening inside the valve is more or is less obscured. Prior devices have not been reliable in producing the desired flow rates and have further required relatively expensive and elaborate modifications to conventional aerosol parts.

' It is the object of the present invention to provide an aerosol valve wherein the control of the spray rate is not dependent on adjustable stop means related to the travel of the valve stem.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an aerosol valve of selectable spray rate with extremely simple structure and involving only a minor modifica tion to one of the conventional aerosol parts.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art from a review of the following specification including the drawings, all of which disclose a non-limiting form of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. I is a sectional view of a valve embodying the invention as installed on an aerosol container;

, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1;

' FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a reduced fragmentary plan view of the top of an aerosol can having the new valve installed; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the stem in tilted condition.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, a portion of a container including a valve embodying the invention installed thereon is generally designated in FIG. I. The valve is held in place on a typical valve mounting cup 12 including the conventional pedestal 14. As shown, the pedestal is necked in as at 16.

The valve includes the molded valve cup 18 provided with an open upper end 20 and a dip tube nipple 22 on the lower end. As shown, the upper end of the valve cup 18 is formed with castellations 24 in accordance with U. 5. Pat. No. 3,158,297. An annular gasket 26 of rubber closes the upper end of the valve cup 18 and the cup castellations and gasket are clamped in place between the necked-in portion 16 of the pedestal and the crimped-in upper portion 14.

Disposed snugly inside the opening of the annular gasket 26 is the stem 28 of the valve member 30. The upper end of the stem 28 may be provided with a conventional mechanical break-up button 32 frictionally held on the stem 28 but free to rotate thereon.

As shown, the valve may comprise two parts. An upper part comprises the stem 28 having an outward flange 34 about the lower end thereof with openings 36 spaced arcuately about the flat upper surface thereof. The openings, as shown in FIG. 2, are of varying sizes.

The lower part of the valve member 30 comprises a body 37 having a central shallow recess 38 and an upward rim 40, the latter being bonded to the flange of the stern whereby the recess 38 and the various openings 36 provide passage means from the inside of the valve cup 18 out through the stem 28.

A conventional helical spring 41 bottoms on the floor of the cup 18 and presses on the body 37 upward to seat the upper surface of the flange 34.

Normally, the upper surface of the flange 34 is seated against the gasket 26 closing each of the openings 36. The tilting of the valve by lateral pressure on the button 32, however, will unseat a portion of the upper portion of flange 34 adjacent one of the openings 36 tothereby permit product to pass through that unseated opening. As the openings 36 are of varying sizes (FIG. 2), the amount of flow through the valve will depend on which way the valve is tilted and, therefore, which area of the flange 34 is unseated from the gasket 26.

FIG. 5 shows the valve stem in tilted condition, tilted towards one of the openings. It will be clear from what has been already described that an important characteristic of the invention is that the rubber or other resilient material of the gasket 26 is soft enough so that the other three openings in the version shown remain blocked by the contact of the upper surface of the flange 34 with the gasket 26 so that only the selected opening 36 is unblocked. Thus, the unblocked opening becomes in effect the only passage through which the product may pass, and is in fact a metering opening. Obviously, if the valve stem is tilted too far, one or more of the openings 36 will become unblocked and the desired metering effect will not be present.

In view of the above, it is important that the gasket material selected be of an appropriate softness. For this purpose, it has been found that rubber in the range of 60 to durometer is appropriate.

Since it is conventional for tilt valves of the type shown to be actuated by tilting in the direction toward which the orifice 32a of the break-up button is facing, suitable indicia 42 may be disposed on the rim of the mounting cup 12 in alignment with the openings 36. As simple indicators, the indicia 42 may be narrower or thick depending on the size of the corresponding opening 36 which is unseated when the stem is tilted in that direction. To operate the valve it is merely necessary to point the orifice 32 at the indicia 42 indicating from its width the amount of flow desired and tilt the valve in that direction. Other indicia are, of course, envisioned.

Reasonable variations from the simple structure shown are envisioned, all covered by the scope of the present invention which is defined in the following claim language.

I claim:

1. In an aerosol valve comprising:

a. a valve cup having an open upper end and a dip tube nipple on the lower end;

b. an annular resilient gasket closing off the open upper end of the cup, the gasket being of rubber with a resilience in the range of 60 to 80 durome ter;

0. a valve member having a tubular stern extending up snugly through the opening in the annular gasket and an upwardly facing flat annular sealing surface circumposing the stem and adapted to seat on the gasket and a plurality of different-sized openings arcuately spaced about the flat surface, each opening having ajuncture with the flat surface, and passage means connecting the openings and the inside of the stem; and

d. spring means in compression between the bottom of the valve member and the floor of the valve cup to bias the valve member seated against its gasket each opening directly sealingly engaging the gasket when the member is seated; whereby the desired flow out the stem results by tilting the stem in a selected direction to unseat only that portion of the surface in the area of the opening of the size which will pass the flow desired.

2. An aerosol valve as described in claim 1 wherein the valve member comprises an upper part presenting the stem and an annular flange surrounding the lower end of the stem. and a lower part presenting a body having a central recess with a mouth and also a floor which is spaced below the bottom of the flange, the rim of the flange being secured to the mouth of the body.

3. In an aerosol valve comprising:

a. a valve cup having an open upper end and a dip tube nipple on the lower end;

b. an annular resilient gasket closing off the open upper end of the cup, the gasket being of rubber with a resilience in the range of 60 to durometer;

0. a valve member having a tubular stem extending up snugly through the opening in the annular gasket and an upwardly facing flat annular sealing surface circumposing the stem and adapted to seat on the gasket and a plurality of different-sized opening means arcuately spaced about the flat surface, each opening means having a juncture with the flat surface, and passage means connecting all the opening means and the inside of the stem; and

d. spring means in compression between the bottom of the valve member and the floor of the valve cup to bias the valve member seated against its gasket each opening means directly sealingly engaging the gasket when the member is seated;

whereby the desired flow out the stern results by tilting the stem in a selected direction to unseat only that portion of the surface in the area of the opening means of the size which will pass the flow desired. 

1. In an aerosol valve comprising: a. a valve cup having an open upper end and a dip tube nipple on the lower end; b. an annular resilient gasket closing off the open upper end of the cup, the gasket being of rubber with a resilience in the range of 60 to 80 durometer; c. a valve member having a tubular stem extending up snugly through the opening in the annular gasket and an upwardly facing flat annular sealing surface circumposing the stem and adapted to seat on the gasket and a plurality of differentsized openings arcuately spaced about the flat surface, each opening having a juncture with the flat surface, and passage means connecting the openings and the inside of the stem; and d. spring means in compression between the bottom of the valve member and the floor of The valve cup to bias the valve member seated against its gasket each opening directly sealingly engaging the gasket when the member is seated; whereby the desired flow out the stem results by tilting the stem in a selected direction to unseat only that portion of the surface in the area of the opening of the size which will pass the flow desired.
 2. An aerosol valve as described in claim 1 wherein the valve member comprises an upper part presenting the stem and an annular flange surrounding the lower end of the stem, and a lower part presenting a body having a central recess with a mouth and also a floor which is spaced below the bottom of the flange, the rim of the flange being secured to the mouth of the body.
 3. In an aerosol valve comprising: a. a valve cup having an open upper end and a dip tube nipple on the lower end; b. an annular resilient gasket closing off the open upper end of the cup, the gasket being of rubber with a resilience in the range of 60 to 80 durometer; c. a valve member having a tubular stem extending up snugly through the opening in the annular gasket and an upwardly facing flat annular sealing surface circumposing the stem and adapted to seat on the gasket and a plurality of different-sized opening means arcuately spaced about the flat surface, each opening means having a juncture with the flat surface, and passage means connecting all the opening means and the inside of the stem; and d. spring means in compression between the bottom of the valve member and the floor of the valve cup to bias the valve member seated against its gasket each opening means directly sealingly engaging the gasket when the member is seated; whereby the desired flow out the stem results by tilting the stem in a selected direction to unseat only that portion of the surface in the area of the opening means of the size which will pass the flow desired. 